INTRODUCTION.

Let us now come to the main object of this preliminary instruction.

The Spiritist doctrineThe body of teachings regarding the nature, origin, and destiny of Spirits, and their relation to the corporeal world., like all new things, has its followers and its detractors. We are going to try to respond to some of the objections of the latter by examining the value of the reasons upon which they rely, without, however, having the pretension of convincing everyone; for there are people who believe that light was made for them alone. We address ourselves to people of good faith, without preconceived or stubbornly fixed ideas, who are sincerely desirous of learning, and we will demonstrate to them that most of the objections raised against the doctrine arise from an incomplete observation of the facts and a judgment rendered with too much levity and haste.

Let us first recall in a few words the progressive series of phenomena that gave birth to this doctrine.

The first fact observed was that of various objects being set in motion; it was commonly designated by the name of turning tables or the dance of the tables. This phenomenon, which seems to have been observed first in America—or rather, which was renewed in that country, for history proves that it dates back to the highest antiquity—occurred accompanied by strange circumstances, such as unusual noises and raps struck without any known manifest cause. From there, it spread rapidly to Europe and other parts of the world; it at first raised much incredulity, but the multiplicity of experiments soon no longer allowed for doubt as to its reality.

If this phenomenon had been limited to the movement of material objects, it could be explained by a purely physical cause. We are far from knowing all the occult agentsIn 19th-century science, "occult" referred to "hidden" forces of nature that were not yet understood, such as magnetism or electricity in its early stages. of nature, or all the properties of those we do know; electricity, moreover, multiplies every day to infinity the resources it provides to man, and seems destined to illuminate science with a new light. There was therefore nothing impossible in the fact that electricity, modified by...